Friday, September 19, 2014

Well, got home from our CSA meet-up last night to find the power out. No power, no internet around here. Farmer Man phoned the Manitoba Hydro trouble line and our trouble was not listed so we checked our system, assumed it would be short lived and lit some candles. Evening chores were done by flashlight. Over an hour later, he phoned again and we were now listed, cause being a pole with wires down and no idea when it would be fixed. So I went to bed. The power came on again a little after 10 PM, but I did not get up to finish the blog post....sorry! Then this morning...just no internet! Re-booted all the equipment, checked all the connections and nothing. So, a couple of hours later we're finally back to normal and finishing the CSA newsletter!

I guess the big surprise in the baskets was fresh celery. Late Wednesday evening our pal Roger showed up with some gorgeous heads of celery and some spaghetti squash. Roger is a 'potato pal' - he and Jes met over the search for interesting potatoes. Roger seems to grow a lot of things that he doesn't eat...hence, he thought of us when he had some lovely extra celery! We wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed some of this treat, so we split it as best we could! Don't forget all that foliage is wonderful for seasoning soups, stews and sautees....and may make an interesting pesto! Thank you, Roger!

Baking with winter squash is a delight! Please replace the 'canned pumpkin' in any recipe with roasted, fresh squash! Try these Pumpkin Donut Holes! There's also great links at the bottom of the post for muffins, donuts and more! Here's the Winter Squash Muffin recipe we use all the time. We've made it with pretty much every type of winter squash. We roast a whole squash, let it cool, then pack away the roasted flesh in one cup portions - ready for these muffins! In the zipper type freezer bags, they store flat and can be stacked or tucked into all kind of spare space in the freezer! Check Tuesday's blog post for some more recipe ideas!

How do you deal with some of the larger, hard skinned squash like Hubbard or Boston Marrow? Well, a saw can help. A large, sharp knife and a rubber mallet can be good. Check out this post with some ideas for cutting winter squash. One of the best tips I ever learned was from an elderly farmers market customer: she would wrap a large squash in a plastic garbage bag and just throw it on the concrete floor of her garage. It would break into pieces in the bag: just wash off and prepare! I've used that trick many times!

Have you tried baking your Swiss chard? Here's a great recipe for baked Swiss chard, Greek style! Beet greens would be lovely in that recipe, too! Heard of kale chips? You can do that with chard or beet greens as well - here's a recipe for Beet Green Chips! Here's five more great recipes for beet greens! While you're at it: eat those carrot tops! We've posted this before and some CSA members have now had carrot top pesto and loved it! Check out a number of things to do with carrot tops, including pesto, here! And these roasted carrots with cumin and chick peas sound fantastic!

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About Us

Down at Aagaard Farms we are busy planting, growing and tending gardens, chickens, goats, pigs and more! We sell direct to our customers through a Community Supported Agriculture program for families who don't have time or space to grow their own produce.
We practice sustainable growing using organic practices. Our desire is to bring fresh, naturally good food from our farm to your table. We are excited to share what's happening on the farm ... here on THE VINE!